Gabby Uceda, left, and her sister, Juliana, bundle up against the cold as they walk along the pond at Creekside Park Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in The Woodlands. Classes in Conroe ISD schools were cancelled Friday due to icy weather. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

David Grant, of Houston, walks past a small snowman shaped like a seated Sam Houston in front of Austin Hall on the campus of Sam Houston State University following an overnight snowfall Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Classes at SHSU were cancelled Friday. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Christina Rizer, a Sam Houston State University senior from Spring, rolls a ball of snow to make a snowman following an overnight snowfall Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Classes at SHSU were cancelled Friday. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Brittany Munoz, left, slides down a hill after a push from Jeimmy Tellez in front of the Peabody Library in a laundry basket following an overnight snowfall on the campus of Sam Houston State University Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Classes at SHSU were cancelled Friday. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Buiar Haidini, left, pulls his son, Orges, in a plastic tub around a field of snow on the campus of Sam Houston State Univeristy, with Riad Haidini running alongside, following an overnight snowfall Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Haidini, who lives in the Willowbrook area of Houston, brought his sons to Huntsville so they could see snow for the first time. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Michael Vogel, of Spring, is pulled on a skim board along a field of snow on the campus of Sam Houston State University following an overnight snowfall Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Classes at SHSU were cancelled Friday. "You don't get too many snow days," Vogel said. " You have to make the best of them." ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Taylor Sammons, left, of New Caney, and David Grant, of Houston, take a look at a small snowman shaped like a seated Sam Houston in front of Austin Hall on the campus of Sam Houston State University following an overnight snowfall Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Classes at SHSU were cancelled Friday. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Christina Rizer, a Sam Houston State University senior from Spring, left, and Haley Griffin, of Carthage, work on making a snowman following an overnight snowfall Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Classes at SHSU were cancelled Friday. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Sam Houston State University student Andrea Gonzales, of Houston, crashes as she slides down a snow-covered hill in a laundry basket following an overnight snowfall Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Huntsville. Classes at SHSU were cancelled Friday. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Brett Coomer/Associated Press

Elizabeth Villanueva sits in her car while waiting for ice to melt from the windshield Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. A light freezing rain and sleet left freeway overpasses and bridges ice-covered and slippery Friday. Traffic was lighter than usual, but numerous traffic wrecks were reported. ( AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Brett Coomer)

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Passengers of a Houston Metro bus elect to walk down the icy McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 after being stranded on the bus for 2hrs due to icy road conditions, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Passengers of a Houston Metro bus elect to walk down the icy McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 after being stranded on the bus for 2hrs due to icy road conditions, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Vehicles wait for help after becoming stranded on the McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 due to icy road conditions, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Rusty Rouse tries to walk up an ice-slicked McKinney St. exit ramp after he and other motorists became stranded due to ice road conditions, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Riogo Rodriguez, left, celebrates with Norma Ortega, top to bottom, Jeanette Bell and Debora Walker after finding a way to open the door to his car after accidentally locking the keys inside after becoming stranded for over 2hrs. on the McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 due to icy road conditions that snarled the morning commute, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Riogo Rodriguez, left, celebrates with Norma Ortega, top to bottom, Jeanette Bell and Debora Walker after finding a way to open the door to his car after accidentally locking the keys inside after becoming stranded for over 2hrs. on the McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 due to icy road conditions that snarled the morning commute, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Norma Ortega, top, and Debora Walker look outside from a Metro Bus headed to downtown after becoming stranded for over 2hrs. on the McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 due to icy road conditions that snarled the morning commute, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Debora Walker looks outside from a Metro Bus while making a phone call to her boyfriend to pick her up after becoming stranded for over 2hrs. on the McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 due to icy road conditions that snarled the morning commute, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Michael Paulsen/Houston Chronicle

Riogo Rodriguez tries to back his car out after becoming stranded for over 2hrs. on the McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 due to icy road conditions that snarled the morning commute, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Byron Foulks helps a motorist who was stranded for over 2hrs. on the McKinney St. exit ramp off of I-45 due to icy road conditions that snarled the morning commute, Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. ( Michael Paulsen / Houston Chronicle )

Vehicles work to move off westbound Hwy. 290 near Fairbanks North Houston Road. Traffic was backed up due to being diverted from the main lanes to the feeder roads to avoid the icy overpasses Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. (Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle)

Crews work to reopen Beltway 8 southbound which is currently still closed on Jan. 24, 2014. (Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle)

A HPD police officer directs traffic along the feeder of westbound Hwy. 290 near Fairbanks North Houston Road as other vehicles work to move off the freeway Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Houston. (Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle)

The downtown Spur is closed for ice between Travis and Louisiana. (Melissa Aguilar / Houston Chronicle)

Photo By Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

Roy Hudson uses a kitchen spatula to chip away ice from his truck's front windshield outside his home on Cypresswood near Kuykendahl as he prepares to go to work Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, in Spring. He said the defroster was not working as A/C system in his truck broke a few weeks ago. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Karen Zurawski

Ice forms in Katy on Friday.

A police officer talks to those involved in a three car accident on Hwy. 290 near Beltway 8. (Johnny Hanson / Houston Chronicle)

Rafael Ortega is busy scrapping ice from windshield with a credit card before heading out to work this morning on Jan. 24, 2014. ( Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle )

Photo By Submitted by Ken Ellis

Light snow falls in The Woodlands early Friday morning.

Photo By Dana Guthrie/Houston Chronicle

A single-vehicle accident on the Gulf Freeway northbound after the US 59 exit ramp (which happens to be closed). The vehicle apparently spun out on the ice that covers the roadway from before the 59 ramp through downtown.

Houston's first taste of real winter brought a miserable mixture of wind, snow, sleet, and ice-glazed roads along with an unscheduled day off for most students and many employers, then was gone as quickly as it came, returning South Texas to January as usual.

The promise of a warmer and sunny weekend turned the Arctic stab of Thursday night and Friday morning into fast-forgotten history, save for those who suffered the pain of smashed cars and expensive tow bills. Police reported a rash of overpass accidents and vehicles stuck by the roadside. A Metro bus was immobilized on an icy off-ramp for hours with passengers inside. But by the evening commute, or what there was of one, most roads were dry and the weather no longer a concern.

The National Weather Service said freezing temperatures likely would continue into Saturday morning, though without the icing that had coated roads, bridges and sidewalks Friday. By midafternoon the high is expected to be near 60 degrees, with Sunday expected to be even warmer.

The wintry descent began Thursday afternoon with piercing cold wind and rain. By 6 a.m. Friday, the temperature at Bush Intercontinental Airport was 29 degrees, with the wind making it feel like 16. As the mercury dropped, city and county road crews across the Greater Houston area mobilized to keep roads passable.

Warnings to stay at home largely were heeded Friday morning, as school districts canceled classes and many businesses followed suit. Yet despite the light traffic, the Houston Fire Department alone responded to 151-weather related accidents between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m.

In Montgomery County, where snow dusted the pines and driving conditions were even more perilous, sheriff's office dispatchers took calls on more than 30 crashes.

No fatalities were reported, but local hospitals stayed busy treating wreck-related injuries. Just one of them, Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, treated 23 people who had been injured in auto accidents. Four of those hurt were pedestrians. It also took care of three people who suffered weather-related falls. None of the injuries was critical.

Icy conditions sent cars and trucks spinning, particularly on ridges and overpasses. Many long-haul drivers waited for the weather to improve at area truck stops, and some who didn't probably wish they had. Among the long list of wrecks was that of an 18-wheel tanker that smashed into a concrete barrier on Interstate 45 in southeast Houston, snarling traffic for hours.

"People just are driving like it's 92 degrees and sunshiny," said Capt. Ronnie Glaze with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

Throughout the morning the traffic accidents kept multiplying despite official warnings and live TV news reports from accident sites, with bumper-to-bumper traffic creeping past in the background. Officials decided to close bridges, ramps and more than 60 roads, including parts of Texas 146, U.S. 59 and the Sam Houston Tollway.

In northwest Houston, U.S. 290 remained open, much to the regret of Janet Cortez. She lost control of her SUV while driving on the freeway near Beltway 8. Her vehicle swerved three times before slamming into a highway divider.

"I thought I was going to die," Cortez said. "I got to a part where it was very icy and I lost control of the vehicle. I didn't step on the brakes, I just let go and held on tight and told my (two) kids to hold as tight as they could. I don't even remember. I just remember seeing the shattered windshield and asking the kids if they were OK. The kids were just screaming. Everyone is OK, thank God."

Nearby, in a Starbucks, Gus Castano said he decided to pull off 290 after seeing a large truck knock a car into a guardrail.

"I'm going to play it safe, make calls and work from here," Castano said from the coffeehouse. "It's not worth getting into an accident."

Amid the warnings Metro buses rolled on. After observing hours of low ridership and the dangerous conditions, transit authority officials took about half its buses out of service before noon. "There is no point in maintaining a normal schedule," spokeswoman Margaret O'Brien-Molina said.

The weather inflicted predictable delays at Houston airports, where more than 100 flights were canceled before operations resumed in the late morning.

Damage from ice and wind also knocked out electricity to more than 5,000 Houston-area homes and businesses. A CenterPoint Energy spokesman said power was expected to be restored by Friday evening.

Every major school district in the region was closed, and all athletic and extracurricular events were canceled, giving students a rare "snow day."

In truth, there was precious little snow, although students at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, where an official 2 inches was recorded, found enough on a hillside to employ laundry baskets for some unexpected downhill fun.

Houstonians saw perhaps a few flurries - no winter wonderland - and the reason had to do with warmer air along the Gulf Coast. While the temperature on the ground was below freezing, thousands of feet above Houston it was not. The result was only cold rain and sleet. Meanwhile, the column of air above Huntsville never rose above freezing, allowing snow to fall.

After another cold night, weather service forecasters said temperatures should rise quickly on Saturday.